Horsin' Around

A week ago I had asked my OH if he could take more responsibility for his horse. What I mean by more responsibility is by just going out and grooming her, bringing her out to graze and even saddling her up while I am working with Chance or Brandy and just riding her around the arena. I know he doesn't like to ride in the arena because he finds it very boring, but we don't get many opportunities to go trail riding together so that means Fritzy is becoming a pasture pet. Last summer I pretty much only rode Fritzy, but this year my priorities have changed and I am going to be focusing on Chance, plus I need to get back to riding Brandy. That means I won't have any time for Fritzy. I already work 45-50 hours a week and I am not home at all when I am at a horse show. It's also a good way for my OH and I to spend a day together, since we don't get many days with each other. We only get one day off a week together and that is only if he doesn't have something going on or if I am not away at a horse show.

So yesterday, my OH asked me if I was going to go out and "horse around". It was partly sunny and a little cold out, but looked like it wasn't going to rain. He said he would come out with me. When I went into the garage to get my groom bag and halters for Chance and Brandy, he grabbed Fritzy's halter. I was very happy to see that he was going to actually get his horse out and groom her. He hasn't done that in approximately 4 yrs. So it's a step in the right direction, right? We get out to the pasture and we slop through the foot deep of mud to catch Fritzy and Brandy. The horses were way out in the back of the pasture and it is pretty rough just for us to walk out there. I asked my OH how he was doing and he didn't like it at all. I told him that he now knows what it is like in the winter when I have to go out and get the horse's for the farrier or when I bring one out for grooming. I don't think he realized how bad it is to lead a horse through a foot of mud.

Once we get the horses out of the pasture, we tie them up to the wood fence posts right outside their pasture. He starts currying Fritzy and I start on Brandy. Fritzy's mane was all knotted up again, so I started working on detangling her mane when my OH says "Maybe you should bring Chance out now and tie her up with these 2 so she can hang out". In other words he was trying to say that it would be good for Chance to just stand tied next to the other horses for awhile. I haven't done that yet, so I agreed and went to go get Chance. Chance got a little excited when I led her behind the other horses and I tied her up on the other side of Fritzy and left her. I went back to work on Fritzy's mane. Chance saw something in the distance and spooked and reared back, so this was her first real "pull back" experience. She struggled for a few seconds and then stopped. I told my OH that she needs to figure it out. I think the longest I have ever had her tied was for 15 minutes and that was while I was grooming her.

I decided to put braids in Fritzy's mane to keep it from getting tangled, which took at least 15 minutes. Chance was a little impatient and was pawing and wiggling a little. Once I was done with Fritzy's mane I went to groom Chance. While I was spraying Show Sheen on her mane she pulled back again and then stopped. I can spray her with a bottle of water, but when it comes to anything else she does not like it. So I worked on desensitizing her with the Show Sheen. She pulled back again, and this time she was pulling back for quite awhile. I usually have Chance untied when I work on this, but she needs to learn at some point. Once I got to a good stopping point with Chance's lesson, I asked my OH if he wanted to put Fritzy and Brandy away. He said he wanted to let Fritzy graze for awhile and that this would be another good training lesson for Chance. We took Fritzy and Brandy about 20 yards away to let them graze. Chance was not liking that. She actually is not herd bound and doesn't care where the other horses are, but she was just pawing and wiggling all over. We let the horses graze until Chance settled down, was standing quietly and chewing on her lead rope. So Chance's tying lesson ended up being an hour. Now I am adding to my list of things Chance needs to do more~ standing tied for long periods of time to learn patience. (I never leave my horse unattended while tied, I might be working on something close by, but never do I just tie a horse up and just leave it that way. This is a personal choice by me and one I am very strict on. I have heard nightmare stories on people leaving horses tied to a tree in a pasture for 24 hrs with no water, so the horse would learn patience. Sorry, not gonna happen at this farm!)

Once we put Fritzy and Brandy away, I took Chance and did a leading lesson with her. With the time I gave her off this winter, she has lost some respect for leading. I don't like to use chains very often, but felt it was a good time to introduce her to the chain, so I would have more control. Once I put the chain on her, she seemed to know that I was in control. We walked back and forth and I made her lead in the proper spot, not too far ahead and not too far behind, and she had to whoa and back up. She did very well. Then I let her graze for about 15 minutes.

I was very proud of my OH for taking the initiative to go out and groom his horse. I don't know how long it will last, but at least he is trying. We had a great day together just horsin' around and I hope there are many more of these kind of days in the months ahead!

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures. I wasn't expecting to be outside that long and I also didn't realize it was going to be a training lesson for Chance! Next time I will get pictures! Plus you would not have wanted to see how dirty Fritzy and Brandy are!! It is so embarrassing how dirty my horses are! I am so glad Chance only has a white star!